Safety lacking at Taipei swimming pools

An inspection of 89 public and private swimming pools in Taipei found that six facilities had flawed contracts or unsatisfactory public safety amenities, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.

Officials demanded that the management of the pools be improved immediately with the peak season for swimming pool use approaching.

The inspection, conducted by Taipei’s Law and Regulation Commission, also found that five pools at Sanming Park and Xinsheng Park, as well as three operated by Far East Steel Safe Manufacturing Co, lacked the full complement of safety equipment, including life-saving ropes, disposable resuscitators and spine boards, according to the commission.

“We are paying extra attention to the safety of swimming pools during the summer months and we are determined to ensure all pools are properly equipped with standard safety equipment,” commission member Tsai Li-wen (蔡立文) said.

He said the commission would ask the operators of the deficient swimming pools to improve the situation within a month, or face a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$1.5 million (US$2,000 to US$50,000) in accordance with the Consumer Protection Law (消費者保護法).

The commission yesterday also asked the contractor of the swimming pool at Chengde Junior-High School to improve operations at after it was found to have failed to offer contract warranties to customers who purchased season tickets.

Taipei’s Department of Health also found that some pools did not have no-smoking signs in place and others did not regularly sterilize their facilities. Officials asked the pools’ administrators to amend the situation immediately.

The commission said it would conduct a second inspection next month to ensure all the pools cited in the report have made the required changes.